New York, Dec. 27. Relief efforts are continuing in Erie County, in northwestern New York, after winter storm Elliot, which caused 28 deaths in this area and 50 across the country and left thousands without electricity.
As of 7:00 a.m. local time (1:00 p.m. GMT), the driving ban is still in effect in the City of Buffalo and the adjacent City of Lackawanna, while the rest of Erie County remains in effect with notice of use only On an as-needed basis, top Erie political official Mark Poloncarz said this morning.
The civil services continue cleaning and clearing the snow in these areas and the police continue to check inside the vehicles abandoned at the weekend by the owners due to the impossibility of driving, the snow and the total lack of visibility .
According to the latest weather report, Buffalo is still expected to have snow as temperatures rise, which could lead to “minor floods” due to the large amount of snowpack.
Power company National Grid said this morning it was keeping 2,850 operators on the ground and was able to restore service to most of the more than 100,000 homes left without power. However, they are still working to restore electricity to 6,200 homes.
Yesterday evening the president of the United States, Joe Biden, approved the declaration of emergency for the state of New York, the state most affected by Storm Elliot, to facilitate the federal aid needed to alleviate its effects and take care of those affected, he said the Casa White in a statement.
With this statement, the United States government approves federal assistance to state and local governments to cope with the aftermath of this severe storm.
The president thus authorized the Department of the Interior and the Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to coordinate the necessary actions to deal with this situation and “alleviate the hardships and suffering” caused by the storm.
The United States is trying to recover from the devastation caused by the Arctic front that caused the death of more than 50 people, half in the Buffalo area in New York state.
Storm Elliot, described as “once in a generation” by the National Weather Service (NWS), caused freezing temperatures from the Great Lakes, near Canada, to the Rio Grande (also called the Rio Grande), on the border with Mexico.
Heavy snow and hurricane-force winds have left thousands trapped in their homes and on the streets, thousands of passengers stranded on Christmas Eve due to flight cancellations, and thousands of homes without electricity due to collapsing electrical infrastructure.